Weighty Issues

Went for my check-up today and was surprised I gained only 0.8kg in the last two weeks. That extra weight's gone to Number 4 who's now approximately 2.85kg.

At 36 weeks, she's already heavier than Xian who weighed a mere 2.59kg at birth. Wen was 3.2kg and Wei was 3.5kg. Unless Number 4 decides to pop within the two weeks, she'll probably be a 3+kg newborn.

My mum's obsessed with the baby's weight (and mine) and her first question after every visit to the doctor is "What's the baby's weight now? How much do you weigh? How much weight did you put on?"

I understand why she's concerned. Xian was considered "small" and she was so fragile at birth I was worried about carrying her or changing her clothes after her bath because I didn't want to accidentally break her limbs. As a first-time mum then, every experience was new and I didn't have the confidence  to handle such a delicate baby.

When Wen and Wei came along, they were considerably "bigger" and I realised it was easier to take care of "larger" babies. Perhaps I was more experienced by then and with Wei, I was the primary care-giver during my maternity leave as MIL had difficulty walking and wasn't able to stand/sit/bend for too long. Despite the traditional taboo that a new mum shouldn't touch water during confinement, I bathed and changed Wei myself because I didn't have extra help. I'm quite sure this would be the same arrangement for Number 4 too.

As for myself, I've packed on a total of 13.5kg so far and with about 3 weeks to go, I may gain another 2kg or so.

I'm bloated, clumsy and waddling awkwardly. Yeah, I can definitely relate to a walrus now. Colleagues comment that my belly's huge and keep asking me when I'm going to 'pop'. My reply's "Anytime now" because I really have no clue when Number 4 will decide to make her appearance. I sure hope she won't choose her birthday between 22 to 28 February as Dr Lim will be overseas then and in the worst case, she'll be delivered by another doctor. That was what happened to Xian who decided to arrive at 38 weeks, 2 days before Dr Lim came back from her holiday!

Alas, there's no way to predict these natural occurrences and we'd rather not induce her birth just to "choose" an auspicious date and "determine" her fate. I guess we'll just let her stay in there till she's ready to face the world.

See you soon in the next few days/weeks Number 4.